OTTAWA- Quebec has always been one of the top provinces in Canada in all areas of the game. This was most evident in 2009 when Quebec was awarded the Province of the Year at the annual Baseball Canada Convention. The highlight of the award was surely Quebec’s success in the Championships category where the province captured 3 gold medals and 4 silver medals at the national level. Like in most cases the key to success at the high performance level is having strong programs in place at the grassroots level; such is the case in Quebec.
The Rally Cap program has a very strong presence in Quebec, where the majority of the province has the program implemented in its member associations.
“Rally Cap is going very well,” said Gilles Taillon, Executive Director of Baseball Quebec. “We have over 80% of our associations using the Rally Cap program.”
The program is beginning to bear results in terms of registration numbers. There is an increase in registration of those kids that have completed the Rally Cap program.
“We’re seeing the effects of the program at the Atom and Mosquito levels,” noted Taillon. “There seems to be a good return of players coming back after they do Rally Cap.”
A challenge that the province faces is getting associations to change their mentality and implement the new programs such as Rally Cap into all of their leagues.
“Once the associations implement the programs and begin using them, we’re getting really good feedback from them,” Taillon said.
Another strong area in Quebec is the girls program. There are many girls teams and leagues in the province and registration numbers have increased in recent years.
“We are in very good shape on the girl’s side,” said Taillon.
A successful component of the girls program is the utilization of skills clinics that are held throughout the province. This year there have already been clinics held in Quebec City and Mirabel with a third one planned for later on this month in the Saguenay region.
At the high performance level Quebec has always been a force nationally. This should be the case again this summer as the expectation is to do well again. It will be quite a feat if Quebec can match the success they had last year in the National championships.
The Baseball Canada Cup team that won silver last year in Kindersley, SK will experience a lot of turnover and question marks remain as to who will fill out the final roster; however the team is still expected to be very competitive.
